With the continued emphasis on highly integrated electronic devices, there is an ongoing need for semiconductor memory devices that operate at higher speed and lower power and have increased device density. To accomplish this, devices with aggressive scaling and multiple-layered devices with transistor cells arranged in horizontal and vertical arrays have been under development. As a result of such increased device density, there is a continuing need for device packages that can support increased device pinout and can support signal transfer at ever-faster exchange rates.
A typical semiconductor device comprises a semiconductor chip, or integrated circuit, that is mounted to a multiple-layered package substrate. The chip is bonded to the substrate using wire bonding, or recently, using flip-chip bonding. Package leads in the form of wire leads or ball matrix leads provide an interface between the chip package and external circuitry. Power signals, ground signals, data signals and control signals are routed between the chip and the package leads via the wire/flip-chip bonding interface and via the package substrate.
With increased device density and increased operating frequencies, a number of problems can be introduced by the semiconductor device package, including crosstalk between neighboring wire/flip-chip bonding interfaces and between neighboring layers of the substrate. As devices continue to become reduced in size due to further integration, there is an increased likelihood of interference in the device package during operation, which can lead to reduced device reliability.